The Saddest Details About Ella Bleu Travolta

When Ella Bleu Travolta was born, her parents were reportedly so worried about her well-being that they decided to attempt a "silent birth," which entails keeping the delivery room as quiet as possible. It's a method that's popular with Scientologists such as Ella's mother and father, "Saturday Night Fever" star John Travolta and "Jerry Maguire" actor Kelly Preston.

Scientology practitioners believe that the noises and words newborns hear when they're first exposed to the outside world can cause them lifelong trauma. However, in an interview with Redbook (via the Chicago Tribune), Preston admitted that she had to speak up when her labor pain became unbearable. "Throw me in the car! I want an epidural!" she remembered exclaiming. 

Ella's parents didn't throw in the towel right then and there just because her birth didn't go exactly as planned. Instead, they became the proudest, most supportive parents they could be. "When I have any questions, my mom and dad have the best advice, and that's amazing," Ella told People in 2019. And when Ella wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps by becoming an actor, John revealed that he wasn't going to go into overprotective papa mode by saying no — although it's hard for any parent to witness their child experiencing the heartbreak of rejection. "You can be rejected in any profession," he pointed out on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." But while Ella grew up surrounded by love and support, she's no stranger to sadness.

Like her numerous nepo baby brethren, Ella Bleu Travolta didn't choose to be a celebrity, and the attention she got for having two famous parents wasn't always appreciated. "Obviously growing up with that automatic sort of spotlight all the time of having all eyes on you or your family definitely has its difficulties for sure," she told Fox News. It can also wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. In a 2007 Parade interview (via The Times), John Travolta revealed that his family started sleeping during daylight hours because that's when the paparazzi was more active. "We're like 'The Addams Family' or 'The Munsters,' living sort of an odd, nocturnal life," he said. "My kids probably stay up too late."

Living this way would be a nightmare for children who have to go to school in the morning, but Ella and her older brother, Jett Travolta, were reportedly home-schooled after their parents moved the family far away from Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles Times (via ABC News), they settled in Ocala, Florida, where the Travolta kids followed a curriculum similar to that of a Scientology school.

At home, everyone had to be ever vigilant of threats to Jett's health. He had Kawasaki disease, and Kelly Preston feared certain toxins could trigger it. On "Montel," she revealed that she had started following the controversial detoxification advice of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in his book "Clear Body, Clear Mind."

For Kelly Preston and John Travolta, providing a sense of normalcy in their children's lives was a top priority after they became parents. "We ride bikes, we go swimming, we do art projects, and we do things as a family," Preston told Phase 9 Entertainment of her family's idyllic home life in Florida. "We go to ordinary places instead of five star restaurants all the time, like Denny's." But the peace they enjoyed away from the spotlight was shattered when they were taking advantage of one of the perks of their massive wealth. During a January 2009 trip to the Bahamas, Jett Travolta, who was 16 years old at the time, suffered a seizure and died. The Travoltas were visiting the islands to celebrate the New Year holiday with a group of friends and family members at a property they owned, per CBS News.

Ella Bleu Travolta was eight years old when her older brother passed, with every holiday season becoming bittersweet for her and her family. While her devastated parents didn't speak publicly about how Ella was feeling at the time, Preston later opened up to the media about how the family was working through their grief together. "We partake in spiritual counseling pretty much daily," she said, per USA Today. "Being with people who are important to you, being with people that you love, I think that's what has primarily helped us the most," Preston added.

Movies brought the already close-knit Travolta clan even closer together. Before Jett Travolta's death, the family made some fond memories when they all joined John Travolta in France, where he was filming the 2010 action-thriller "From Paris with Love." The actor recalled to the Boston Herald, "My highlight was when I came home from work around midnight one night and my daughter and my son had a couple of friends with them. I said, 'How would you like to go to downtown Paris on the Champs-Elysees and we will have pizza and then we'll go to the Plaza Athenee and have hot cocoa?'"

On "The Oprah Winfrey Show," John said that he also enjoyed bonding with Jett and Ella Bleu Travolta by watching some of his age-appropriate movies with them. Ella told her dad that she wanted to act after seeing him in "Look Who's Talking," and she got her wish when John helped her land a role alongside him and her mom in the 2009 comedy "Old Dogs." Jett's tragic death would cast a shadow over her big moment in the spotlight. After the family took some time to grieve, her parents guided Ella through her first promotional campaign. "We decided it was okay to come out and promote, to introduce her to the world and to give her a beautiful future in film," John explained to the media, per USA Today.

Beginning the painful process of adjusting to the absence of her beloved brother wasn't the only way Ella Bleu Travolta's life dramatically changed after Jett Travolta died. Members of the Church of Scientology known as auditors invaded the Travolta household and remained there for two years. John Travolta revealed that he was in a dark place during this time. "The truth is, I didn't know if I was going to make it," he said during a 2014 event in London, per BBC News. "Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better." Living with a parent whose grief was so overwhelming couldn't have been easy for a child who was grieving herself.

John was also spending an inordinate amount of time with the auditors, who hadn't just swooped in to provide emotional support, an ex-church official told the Daily Beast. They also purportedly served as monitors who made certain that John didn't entertain the idea of leaving the church. "They didn't take a day off, working through different angles of the techniques to get through grief and loss, and to make me feel that finally I could get through a day," John said. In an interview with The Telegraph, he revealed that the auditors even became his traveling companions. He didn't reveal whether they similarly worked with his wife or daughter but indicated to Us Weekly that the entire family benefited from the church's support.

In a 2011 interview with Health, Kelly Preston shared her joy over welcoming her third child, Benjamin Travolta, at age 48. She also had some advice for readers: "Love your kids like it could be the last moment." Nine years later, John Travolta shared the tragic news that his wife had died from breast cancer, and he said on Instagram that he'd be focusing on family time. By then, Ella Bleu Travolta was also on social media, and she posted a heartbreaking message of her own addressed to her mom. "Thank you for your help and thank you for making this world a better place," it read in part. "You have made life so beautiful and I know you will continue to do so always."

A source told Us Weekly that Preston was one of Ella's closest friends, and Tracee Dunblazier, a spiritual empath, explained to the Inquisitr that having this type of relationship with her mom potentially helped Ella start the grieving process early. Preston received her diagnosis two years before she died, so during that time, Ella had to witness the toll that her mother's cancer treatments took on her physically and emotionally.

In future Instagram posts, Ella would reveal that her mother was never far from her thoughts. "I miss you and love you very much, but your smile, warmth and love is ever lasting," she wrote on Mother's Day in 2021.

All you have to do is glance at Ella Bleu Travolta and John Travolta's Instagram pages to see that the daughter and father enjoy each other's company. But in an interview with Esquire Spain, John explained why it was easier for him to mourn the death of Kelly Preston alone. "While it's great to have company, sometimes it becomes like you're helping them, instead of putting yourself to work overcoming the sense of loss and mourning," he said.

While everyone has to grieve in their own way, a source told OK! that Ella grew concerned her dad was beginning to neglect his friendships and was spending too much time holed up at home. She purportedly shouldered the responsibility of encouraging him to change his behavior. "What Ella wants most is for him not to be alone with his pain anymore," the insider said, adding that it was also Ella's hope that her dad would someday get back in the dating game. She may have her work cut out for her, as another source told Radar, "John still considers himself married and says he will stay loyal to Kelly until the day he dies." As of this writing, it appears that John's kids remain his number one priority. Luckily, Ella is always game to hang out with her pops and told SheKnows that one of their favorite father-daughter activities is watching "The Kardashians" together.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta maintained a lifelong friendship after playing star-crossed lovers from different high school social circles in the beloved 1978 musical "Grease." After Newton-John died from breast cancer in 2022, Ella Bleu Travolta told SheKnows that she had also gotten to know the entertainer well over the years. "She's been a huge part of my life for my whole life and our family and she's just such an icon," she said. "She was such a wonderful woman." Newton-John sweetly praised Ella and complimented her on her dress when John shared a photo on Instagram of his family all dressed up for their 2021 New Year's Eve celebration. Newton-John also shared her condolences when Kelly Preston died, letting Ella know that she was thinking of her and the rest of the Travolta family. "My heart breaks for John, Ella and Ben," she tweeted. "No words can express my sorrow for her family. Kelly's light shines on in her beautiful children." 

After Newton-John's death, Ella told SheKnows that one way she was honoring the music icon's memory was by listening to some of her songs from the "Grease" soundtrack, revealing that "Hopelessly Devoted to You" was a favorite. "Her spirit will be alive forever," Ella said. "We're just really keeping their family and her in our hearts always."

Ella Bleu Travolta decided to follow in her father's rhythmic footsteps by recording music, telling People that she spent some of her free time during the early days of the pandemic penning songs. She was 20 at the time and wanted to write about being in love, but unlike Taylor Swift, she had no personal experiences to reflect back on and draw inspiration from. "I had never actually been in a relationship or anything," she said, "but I had watched other people be in relationships or experienced some form of love."

When Ella appeared with both of her parents on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2016, "Summer Nights" singer John Travolta said of his daughter's love life, "I don't interfere with that." Kelly Preston revealed that she was the one Ella talked to about matters of the heart, but by the time Ella decided to embark on her singing career, she'd sadly lost the parent whose heart-to-hearts could have given her more insight into the emotional rollercoaster that is being in love.

In early 2023, Ella said she was working on an EP that would include songs examining love and a feeling she's all too familiar with: grief. She previously released a track titled "Dizzy" that touched on love and loss, with lyrics such as, "I know that she's your light now / And I laugh so hard when you make fun of me / Though I can't make you happy."

Ella Bleu Travolta's acting career got off to a rocky start when she appeared alongside her parents in the 2009 movie "Old Dogs." The New York Post gave the film an especially harsh review, writing, "'Old Dogs' does to the screen what old dogs do to the carpet. It's unfortunate that only the latter can be taken out and shot." Ella backed out of working with her parents again in the 2018 crime biopic "Gotti," which would be her last opportunity to act alongside her mother. "She wants to come back the way she wants to come back," John Travolta told People of Ella's decision.

It would be a decade before Ella shared the screen with her father again in the 2019 thriller "The Poison Rose." Ever the doting dad, John talked up her performance to Parade, saying, "She looks like a young Liz Taylor and she's every bit as good; she's really something." But the film, which also starred Morgan Freeman and Brendan Fraser, was another big miss with critics. "...it's just a sad, unimaginative affair in which an impressive lineup of talented names goes to waste before our eyes," Variety wrote.

Ella decided to roll solo for her third film, a modern retelling of "Alice in Wonderland" titled "Get Lost," but this didn't mean that she no longer wanted to work with her father. She told People, "I always jump at the opportunity to do something with my dad."